


shine like you want to (shine like you have to)

by tatersalad5001



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Drabble, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-17
Updated: 2020-01-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:40:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22245745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tatersalad5001/pseuds/tatersalad5001
Summary: The sky was dark, calm, and peaceful. Barely any stars at all were visible in the night Paris sky, but they twinkled down at Marinette. They seemed so carefree. Free to do nothing but light up the sky.“Huh. That’s an interesting way to look at it. I’ve never seen them that way.”
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Kudos: 22





	shine like you want to (shine like you have to)

**Author's Note:**

> ey so uh, i don't watch this series outside netflix. i've seen everything that is on netflix, or at least was when i last got on there, so the most recent season i've only seen the first half of. so, uh, keep that in mind. i was thinking about gamer 2.0 some days back and how busy these kids are and how much they just need, like, a break. so that's what i wanted this to be. just a chance for them to catch their breaths and step back from everything for a moment or two. it's not much, but it is what it is, and it's the least these two deserve.
> 
> i was really tired when i wrote this, i was having a lot of trouble sleeping, so, uh, sorry about that.
> 
> hope you enjoy reading this one! thanks for stopping by!!

Marinette took a deep breath of outside air and looked up at the stars.

The sky was dark, calm, and peaceful. Barely any stars at all were visible in the night Paris sky, but they twinkled down at her. They seemed so carefree. Free to do nothing but light up the sky.

She envied them. If only she had so little responsibility.

Her life had been hectic lately. Barely any free time at all. Marinette was so busy, between school and friendships, helpng her parents with the bakery, working on promotional material for two different bands at once. But it felt hard to justify taking a step back from it all without explaining she was a superhero, too. People needed her, anyway. They needed Marinette. And she didn’t want to let them down.

The night sky was relaxing to look at. This was the first time Marinette had left her room for several hours for a break. She needed it. She needed a longer one than she could afford to take it.

“Whoa, Marinette, are you okay? You look exhausted.”

The voice that spoke was incredibly familiar to her, but it still surprised her to hear it now. She turned around. When did Cat Noir get on her roof? Why didn’t she notice him before now? She really must be tired.

“Oh, hey, Cat Noir. I’m fine, I’ve just been busy, that’s all. Too much to do, not enough hours in the day.”

Cat Noir winced in sympathy. “Sounds rough. You’ve been making sure you’re getting enough breaks, right? Not skipping meals?”

Marinette laughed. “As much as I can. It’s hard to fit all that in with everything, but I’m okay.” She smiled at him. “It’s sweet of you to make sure, though. Thanks.”

“Of course. I’m glad you’re taking care of yourself.”

The two of them sat in silence for a while. It wasn’t entirely awkward, but not entirely comfortable, either. Not for Marinette anyway. The last time Cat Noir was here, she was pretending to like him to keep her identity as Ladybug secret. It hadn’t gone well, and she couldn’t help but think of that now.

She didn’t want to bring it up, though. Really, she’d rather talk about anything else. And Cat Noir had been nice enough to ask about her, so... “What brings you to this part of Paris? Nothing bad, I hope.”

“Nope, nothing like that,” he agreed. “Just patrolling Paris as much as I can. Easier to keep the city safe that way.”

Marinette felt bad at that. She really should be patrolling as Ladybug more, shouldn’t she? She really didn’t have the time to fit in more Ladybug time, though, outside emergencies. Cat Noir was always able to make more time for patrols, and as his partner, she wished she could do the same, but...

Cat Noir kept talking. “To be _purr_ -fectly honest—“ Marinette rolled her eyes at the pun but didn’t say anything. “—the patrol is sort of an excuse. I needed some fresh air, I needed to get out of the house.”

“I hear you.” Marinette sighed. “That’s why I’m out here, too. I’m taking a break everything to look up at the sky for a minute and remember there’s a world outside my room. Watch the stars, or what little we can see of them from here, at least.” She frowned. “I wish I could be more like them.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“They’re so free up there. All they have to do is light up the sky. I’ve got so many responsibilities right now, it’d be nice if I could just barely do anything, you know? Slow down a little.”

“Huh.” Cat Noir looked between Marinette and the sky. “That’s an interesting way to look at it. I’ve never seen them that way.”

“How do you see the stars, then?”

“They’ve always seemed so trapped to me. Sure, they’ve got the whole sky, but they’re stuck up there. They can’t come down here, they can’t leave their positions to go anywhere they want. They don’t get a choice, their whole life is plotted out for them out there.”

“That sounds so lonely.” Marinette looked back up towards the sky. “Looking at it that way, maybe I don’t have it too bad. Sure, I’m busy, but at least I have freedom. I chose to do all the things I’m doing, if you don’t count school, and I got to make that choice.”

“I wouldn’t say one’s necessarily worse than the other.” Cat Noir shrugged. “They can’t make choices, but at least they don’t have to deal with the consequences of making poor choices, or making impossible decisions. I think both interpretations are equally valid.”

He had a point there.

“Are you hungry?” Cat Noir asked abruptly. “I grabbed snacks on my way out of my house, wasn’t sure how long I’d— I’ve got cheese? The camembret’s claimed, it’s smelly so you probably don’t want it anyway but I have other kinds— You...live in a bakery. You’re probably not...”

“A snack sounds nice.” Marinette smiled. “Thank you.”


End file.
